Review and criticism of Bad Mexicans: Race, Empire, and Revolution in the Borderlands
Bad Mexicans: Race, Empire, and Revolution in the Borderlands by Kelly Lytle Hernández is well-written and well-researched. The book includes excellent information about the interconnections of the United States and Mexico, a part of history that is not well-known by most Americans. The book’s core is an inspirational story of Ricardo Flores Magon and his motley crew of comrades who helped bring about the Mexican Revolution. The story of the magonistas was inspiring and enjoyable to read, showing their struggles, friendship, work, and ultimate success in helping to oust the dictator of Mexico.
Unfortunately, her writing often veers into a narrative that is a mixture of cultural Marxism, modern-day feminism, and constant villainization of what she terms Anglo-Americans. Nearly every stage of the history she writes about has a predetermined agenda and artificially fits (or at least includes) this narrative into the experiences of these historical figures. No doubt, racism was present at this time in history, as it is in all times of history. It is not surprising that there are quotes from men, who lived over 100 years ago, that reflect the common conceptions of race at that time. There are also true stories, included in the book, of atrocious things that happened to Mexican people. However, the all-too-common trope of imperialism, colonialism, and villainization of all things American or European is an oversimplified view of history and seems cliched. Yes, this narrative has true elements, but it is far from telling the entire story and is a modern approach to past events, morals, and people. The consistent narrative pushed by Hernández overshadowed the great stories of struggle and triumph of the magonistas. Early in her book, it became apparent that there was a pre-set conception of this, and many stories along these same lines followed. A few examples of this are in the following paragraphs.
The introduction to the book begins with a grisly account of a Mexican man, Antonio Rodriguez, being murdered at the hands of 400 white Texas farmers. In a sad and unjust situation, accused of murdering a white woman, Antonio was gruesomely murdered.[1] The facts of this horrific story of injustice look to be beyond dispute and set off a series of events that raised tensions between Mexico and its neighbor to the North. However, beginning a book about Mexico, and the group that helped facilitate the Revolution and ousting its dictator, by focusing on white supremacy in the U.S. is a dubious way to start. The introduction raised suspicion of possible underlying motivations by the author.
Throughout the book, there was a long list of injustices perpetrated by white Anglo-Americans. Again, if true, these events are indefensible. However, the continual focus on them came across as an oversimplification, and the historiography seemed narrowly focused, giving the role of white supremacy in the U.S. an oversized influence on the Mexican Revolution. Chapter 1 begins with a short description of Diaz’s childhood and also describes a nation at war. In the second paragraph of the chapter, Hernández frames the conflict in Mexico around 1830 as primarily between whites and non-whites. Even though Anglo-Americans are not the target of villainification in this chapter, whites in Mexico are.[2] Chapter 2 shows Diaz’s rule as one that ushered in order and infrastructure but at a price. Quickly Hernández turns to greedy “Anglo-Americans” being the perpetrators of a massive land grab and invasion of Mexico.[3] Chapter 6 outlines an unjust system of “racial terror,” “deference to Anglo-Americans,” lynch mobs and mass discrimination. The word “white” was used a dozen times in this chapter to demonstrate various injustices toward Mexicans.[4] Chapter 8 again uses “white” several times to show the unfair practices in which neighborhoods Mexicans could live, why they could not be naturalized, general disenfranchisement, voting rights abuses, and discrimination in the courts.[5]
In the opening paragraph of chapter 9, Hernández wrote that journalists from Mexico chose to live in St. Louis. Where they chose to live seems like an unimportant detail at first glance. She writes, “Why the Mexico City journalists chose St. Louis is not known.” Again, this is an insignificant detail, but she seems to be using it as a platform for a predetermined agenda that includes everything: white supremacy, U.S. imperialism, racism of many varieties, Adolph Hitler, white imperial bashes, and eugenics.
“Few Mexicans lived in the city, and the year before they arrived St. Louis had hosted a world’s fair that amounted to a national tribute to white supremacy and U.S. imperialism. Nineteen million spectators visited the fair, touring an “ivory city” with anthropological exhibits on communities displaced or dominated by U.S. territorial expansion. The exhibits described these cultures as “backward,” “conquered,” “unfit,” and “disappearing.” One of the most popular exhibits was the Apache Village, where young Apache men and women were confined to a boarding school while Geronimo, the once fearsome warrior, posed for souvenir photos with tourists for a nickel. Each photo was a trophy of white settler conquest in the American West. Not far away, twenty “purchased” Africans were commanded to dance and sing for passersby. One of them, a young man named Ota Benga, was later transferred to the Bronx Zoo where Madison Grant, the popular Anglo-American eugenicist later praised by Adolf Hitler, kept him on display in a cage. The most visited exhibit was the Philippine Reservation, which held one thousand Filipinos imported from the newest U.S. territory. Throughout the fair, which historian Walter Johnson describes as the “largest human zoo in world history,” ambulances stood by to carry away overheated spectators who fainted during the white imperial bash.”[6]
Bad Mexicans could have been a great book, and parts of it were great. It was an eventful story of an inspiring leader leading a diverse group of people toward a worthy goal. Furthermore, this goal was significant in starting the Mexican Revolution. Unfortunately, it got sidetracked into making elements that, while present and had some importance to the story into becoming the story.
Source used: Hernández, Kelly Lytle, Bad Mexicans: Race, Empire, and Revolution in the Borderlands (New York, W.W. Norton & Company), Red Shelf eReader, n.d. https://platform.virdocs.com/
________________
[1] Kelly Lytle Hernández, Bad Mexicans: Race, Empire, and Revolution in the Borderlands (New York, W.W. Norton & Company), Red Shelf eReader, n.d. https://platform.virdocs.com/ Introduction.
[2] Hernández, Bad Mexicans. Chapter 1
[3] Hernández, Bad Mexicans. Chapter 2
[4] Hernández, Bad Mexicans. Chapter 6
[5] Hernández, Bad Mexicans. Chapter 8
[6] Hernández, Bad Mexicans. Chapter 9
